Trip switch went but now 1 room wont light

[MarkGolf]

Hi Guys,

Hope someone can help.

I set about changing a 2 gang light switch in my front room, so I shut off the trip switch, the kitchen shares this trip switch.

Finished the job and flicked trip switch and as I did it, it sparked and flipped down.

I found that a screw for the switch had grazed the live wire, resolved that and front room lights all good.

I later found the kitchen lights to not work. I have a 2 gang switch which feeds a daisy chained set of downlights and under cabinet lighting, these have a transformer. The down lighters do not, the wire from the light switch looks to go into a junction box as part of the downlight and another wire comes back out and on to the next light. I tried changing the bulb in the first of the chain. I have also changed the switch but then later got hold of a tester.

I get nothing at all, I have a voltage tester and it jus bleeps, does not register any voltage at the switch, I have followed the wire back from switch, up in loft (in a top floor apartment) and to the trip box, there are no fuses or anything in between but I cannot work out why the front room is ok and the kitchen is not, even though they are fed from same supply share the one and only live feed). Earths are attached fine too.

Any advice would be great

Thanks

 

[ETAF]

I have a voltage tester

Whats the Voltage Tester you have a multimeter OR a screwdriver type thing with a light in the handle ?

It maybe the Surge/flash has damaged the transformer(s)

The down lighters do not,

These are all mains rated lights and not low voltage at all ?

 

[MarkGolf]

Hi, thanks for the fast reply.

It's a VoltStick, had to borrow it off a neighbour as my volt meter is in a location I haven't gone to as yet.

https://www.uni-t.cz/en/p/voltage-detector-uni-t-ut15c


The down lighters are mains rated, 240v GU10 bulbs in each.

I can only think that the live feed to the kitchen has broken, does that happen?

 

[ericmark]

Traditional wiring is only to take the line to the switch, so to measure voltage the only reference point in the switch is the earth, problem is often the switches are not tested as they should be, and lack of earth does not stop lights working, so in this case the neon screwdriver is your friend. Yes I know we all say use a proper meter, but in this case neon screwdriver likely better.

These are all mains rated lights and not low voltage at all ?

That is clearly wrong 230 volt is classed as low voltage, and below 50 volt AC is extra low voltage, unless you live in USA, and this is a British forum.

 

[ETAF]

Thanks for the correction on low voltage.

 

[terryplumb]

Show us pics of wiring at the switch and mounting box

 

[ericmark]

The standard UK wiring method is ceiling rose to ceiling rose, then each rose to switch. However when GU10 are used there is no ceiling rose, so either it goes switch back box to switch back box or there is some sort of junction box likely hidden in the ceiling.

This is what should be used, but often you find some block connector wrapped in tape, often you find wires have been held by on strand, and a tungsten bulb blowing with ionisation (flash as it blows) is enough to fuse that one strand.

 

[MarkGolf]

Thank you guys, I will jump back up there for a better look but these pictures may reveal something.

2nd one in, circled, both wires are securely in the switch.

Kitchen switch

Downlighter

 

[MarkGolf]

Tried the suicidal screwdriver and it doesn't illuminate on any wire at the kitchen switch

 

[terryplumb]

Your first pic of the test instrument is a two probe voltage tester ,not a volt stick ,and should be preferable to use rather than a neon screwdriver.
At your switch ,one gang works ,and there is a short bridging cable between the two gangs. Test for voltage at the terminal that holds two conductors ( one of them being the bridge) .Is there 240/230 volts at that terminal ,and zero at the other end of the bridge wire ( sitting in the other gangs terminal ) ? If so the bridging wire isnt bridging !
Note ..your connections at the terminals have bare copper exposed. Re make the connections so no bare copper is outside the terminals.

 

[MarkGolf]

Hi Terry,

Sorry, says volt stick on it so just quoting that.

There is no voltage at that 2 conductor terminal. It just bleeps and does the same for the bridge.

This is the 2 gang kitchen switch, 1 gang doing the downlighters, the other the cabinet lights.

I used the probe tester as you describe and I'm getting the continuity light light up and bleep, this is when holding the black prob to the green/yellow and/or blue and red to the terminals on the switch.

 

[terryplumb]

It is the switch that controls the other room ,that you changed ,that we need pics of .
Did you change the kitchen switch after breaker tripped ,or the other rooms switch ?

 

[MarkGolf]

I will get a picture of that, that runs fine. Is a new switch and runs as expected.

I did change the kitchen one after the breaker trip, just incase I had killed the switch, no joy so I reverted back to original switch. The kitchen just wont work.

 

[terryplumb]

Your live feed is fed from one switch to another ( and neutrals looped through their locations with terminal blocks ). So the feed to kitchen switch comes from front room most probably ,where you have likely made a disconnection .

 

[MarkGolf]

Spot on!! Broken wire in the front room light switch, kitchen is t'd off of here!

Thanks again!!